This week’s Future Pop features Big Time Rush, Cleo Sol and Karmin.
Song of the Day: Big Time Rush - Windows Down
They’ve made it to their third album, so it seems Big Time Rush’s A&R has finally decided it might be worth giving them a song that could be a commercial hit. Windows Down is a fun, summery track which is halfway between Gym Class Heroes and *N Sync, perfect for a 2012 teen pop band. I could actually imagine it on Radio 1, although I suspect it will take them some time to get rid of their “just for kids” reputation.
Also a random fact: Windows Down started life as a song by Ke$ha called Woo Hoo!
Song of the Day: Big Time Rush ft. Mann - Music Sounds Better With You
The search for the next big US boyband continues, and while Mindless Behavior are picking up steam, Big Time Rush have finally entered the game by releasing their first ever good song. It’s certainly no masterpiece, but it’s a step in the right direction at least. As you may have guessed, Music Sounds Better With You references the 1998 Stardust hit. The chorus is a copy, but sung slightly differently, so it ends up a pretty distant relation of the original. Big Time Rush have a fairly successful Nickelodeon TV show where they play themselves, so they’re basically the US version of North and South. Until now their music has been bland, lifeless imitations of chart pop but now they’ve started to see success (there’s even a Big Time Rush film in the making) top pop writers like Lucas Secon have gotten involved, and this track was written by Ryan Tedder. Their second album Elevate is released this month and I’m actually quite excited to hear it - there’s bound to be at least one moment of pop genius in there.
